Halo 5 Guardians Multiplayer Early Beta Impressions

So, this weekend, luck has fallen in my favour again. I’ve managed to sneak my way into the early access of the Halo 5 beta, which must count as some sort of early access inception right? Anyway, I’ve come here to brag about it. No I’m just kidding, why I’m really here is to give my impressions and thoughts so far of the game. As a long-time Halo player and fan, my hope is that this game will be the one to bring Halo back to the top of the shooter genre. From the release of the first trailer it was clear, 343 Industries has decided to throw themselves into the competitive gaming mix with the next instalment of the storied Halo franchise, but after so many years and games passing Halo by, can they possibly compete with today’s biggest titles? Well, I cant see the future, so time will have to answer that one. All I’ve got right now is 2 maps, 8 players, and a whole lot of opinions.

The eternal war between red and blue rages on…

So the elephant in the room for any Halo player who has seen Halo 5 gameplay, is that this game seems to borrow even more from the Call of Duty design, one that most modern shooters are copying already. With Halo 4, 343 brought in the ability to sprint at all times, as well as loadouts, their equivalent of CoD’s classes. Many of the changes didn’t go over to well with the fans, and Halo 4’s mutiplayer went by without much love from the community. So naturally, brows were furrowed and eyebrows were raised when Halo 5 gameplay surfaced, and even more typical Call of Duty features were shown, like the ability to aim down sights with every weapon. Many, including myself, were sceptical. Halo has always been a very different experience to the typical military shooter. As such, the more Halo seems to lean towards those typical FPS tropes, the more worried fans tend to get. Well, I’d like to settle these worries right now. In my first game of Halo 5, I tried to play like it was Call of Duty, and by god did I get destroyed. It just did not go well. But as the game went on, I started getting the feel for the true Halo experience back, and before long, Halo felt like Halo again.

It feels good to be back.

Now there are some stark differences in this iteration, the assault rifle now has some actual range due to the new A.D.S. system, the DMR is now godlike, and the SMG has some real bite to it. All in all though, the weapons feel very similar to previous games. The differences are slight, but worth noting. The two maps available currently, Empire and Truth, are small, confined, arena style maps. Of course, Truth will be familiar to returning fans, being the next incarnation of the classic Midship. Empire is a very prototypical arena map, asymmetrical, yet well balanced with a lot of nooks and crannies for constant changes in pace. The game is definitely built with competitive play in mind, with emphasis on controlling the heavy weapons and the map itself, which was always the focus of MLG players, but now it’s much more incorporated into the game’s base structure. The player characters call out things like weapon pickups, or enemy locations, which makes the whole game feel a bit more alive, as opposed to the previous, chatterless games. Whenever power weapons are 30 seconds out from spawning into the game, the announcer will tell the players, making the classic Halo battles over sniper rifles and rocket launchers all the more prevalent.

I do have a few gripes with the game, though nothing major. The new kill-cam’s are a little clunky, they take just a little too long to load in and out, and I feel they take the player out of the action a little too much. Of course, the information they give is valuable, often revealing the enemy player’s next move, but the long fade to black transition is a bit much. This could just be a beta issue, but it could use a bit of tweaking. The only other real problem I’ve had, is the lighting. Now, Empire is pretty much fine, its mostly naturally lit and therefore not overly imposing. Truth, however, has more lens flare then a J.J. Abrams movie. The lighting is very neon, and very in your face. Couple that with the glow of an energy sword, and you’re effectively blind. Fun fact, by the way, Truth has a totally different sword from the typical one usually found in Halo, which, upon further research, I discovered is actually the sword owned by the Arbiter. Now, you can’t say I didn’t teach you something!

It is seriously hard to see in there.

All in all, this game truly feels like the best Halo game in years. Many would argue that it takes too much from other shooters, but as far as I’m concerned, that doesn’t matter if it makes Halo a better game. They tried it with Halo 4, and it didn’t really work. But here, I assure you, it does. Halo 5 is the truest Halo experience in a long time, and I can say that confidently having only played for a few hours on 2 maps. The beta will open up to anyone who owns the Master Chief Collection on December 29th, and will run for three weeks, with a total of 7 maps and lots of customization to get you ready for the game’s release in the latter part of 2015. I implore any of you who own an Xbox One to check it out, because this is a Halo game that cannot be missed, and certainly, once it stands beside the likes of Call of Duty and Destiny, it wont be ignored.

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RAID 2018 is a gaming event, by gamers, for gamers. Offering BYOC LAN tournaments, video game concerts, talks from industry professionals and much more, we're banking on this being the best

Event Details

RAID 2018 is a gaming event, by gamers, for gamers. Offering BYOC LAN tournaments, video game concerts, talks from industry professionals and much more, we’re banking on this being the best gaming event in Ireland during 2018!